One of my old beloved cats may have diabetes or kidney disease?? Not sure what i should do..

wacckky

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Hello! So i have a cat thats 14 almost 15. She is my best friend growing up. Last year i had to rehome her, well give her to my brother to look after as my bf (who i live with) has 3 cats of his own and have conflicts from time to time. Hes been taking great care of her, and if she needs veterinary attention i take her and pay for it as hes doing me such a huuge favour.

I check up on her and visit her, and ask my brother how shes doing as she has issues with her anal glands. Well now he says he notices shes been drinking water a lot more now.. my first thought was diabetes but i also read it could also be kidney disease.

Im at a loss right now. Shes my baby and i want nothing but the best for her. I will be scheduling a vet appointment for her asap. However, i do not have a bunch of money to be taking her to the vet all the time and paying for treatments as well.. what does the cat site recommend? I don't know if euthanizing her would be the right choice but i do want her to live a happy life. Shes the only cat ive had thats made it this long.. but i also don't want to be making the wrong choice.. :( this is heartbreaking news to me..

Maybe she could be fine i dont know for sure until i take her to the vet and have tests done on her..
 

mrsgreenjeens

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The first thing you need to do is GET a diagnosis. It could be kidney disease, it could be diabetes (is she overweight?), it could be something else. But until you know what it is, you won't know what it will mean in terms of financial costs and her quality of life. I've had three kidney cats, and AFTER diagnosis they each lived three years, and their health costs were really fairly minimal. Bloodwork maybe twice a year, and towards the end, costs for sub-q fluids, which is really pretty inexpensive if you get your supplies via the internet and not at the Vet. If it's diabetes you can test at home and give insulin shots pretty easily, although I really don't know the cost of insulin. But I've hear here on TCS that many people are able to get their cats OFF insulin with diet, kind of like humans getting their A1C in the correct range.

Let us know after the Vet visit what you're dealing with and we can really start to figure things out with you. Also, discuss with your Vet their thoughts. AND her caretaker at this point. Obviously your brother will need to be on board for medications, etc. Is he willing? (if it's necessary?
 
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wacckky

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The first thing you need to do is GET a diagnosis. It could be kidney disease, it could be diabetes (is she overweight?), it could be something else. But until you know what it is, you won't know what it will mean in terms of financial costs and her quality of life. I've had three kidney cats, and AFTER diagnosis they each lived three years, and their health costs were really fairly minimal. Bloodwork maybe twice a year, and towards the end, costs for sub-q fluids, which is really pretty inexpensive if you get your supplies via the internet and not at the Vet. If it's diabetes you can test at home and give insulin shots pretty easily, although I really don't know the cost of insulin. But I've hear here on TCS that many people are able to get their cats OFF insulin with diet, kind of like humans getting their A1C in the correct range.

Let us know after the Vet visit what you're dealing with and we can really start to figure things out with you. Also, discuss with your Vet their thoughts. AND her caretaker at this point. Obviously your brother will need to be on board for medications, etc. Is he willing? (if it's necessary?
Yeah like i guess i shouldn't jump the gun but i already help my bf out so much with vet visits with his cats, have a 6 month old son and not working currently so money is pretty limited.. i can take her to get checked up on and do some tests but depending on the treatments idk if i could afford that. My brother is also off work due to covid so i dont want to ask him to help with that either, i feel like him looking after her since i cant is a huge favour in itself...

she isnt overweight though at all shes more small-normal size and weight. Ill have to call the vet monday since theyre closed rn
 

mrsgreenjeens

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It's tough out there right now for so many folks :hugs:. What does she eat...wet food or dry? If it IS kidney disease, which is a very good possibility, usually the first thing suggested is a change of foods to go with something with lower phosphorus. The problem is, if she is currently eating a less expensive kibble, this is also going to cost more (sorry, I forgot mention that above because I was already feeding canned food) And wet foods are best because they contain moisture, which is what kidney cats need. Here is a link to a wonder site all about kidney disease in cats, and more specifically to their page on food and figuring out which foods have less phosphorus. I tried to keep my guys food under 1.0 and luckily I see some fairly inexpensive brands in that category. (I guess it's all relative though when you aren't working)

http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm#canned_usa

Anyway, if she seems to feel good except having excessive thirst, maybe you could TRY a change in foods and see what happens. IF you can find a food that is low in phosphorus AND low in carbs, that would be ideal, just in case it's diabetes, since carbs is the bad thing for diabetes. This could be a win-win if you feel you cannot afford a Vet at this very moment. Hope this all makes sense
 
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wacckky

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Hello all! Sorry for the last update but I finally got her into the vet last Thursday. She doesn't have neither kidney disease or diabetes. However she has a condition called Eosinophillic Granuloma Complex, i dont know too much about it as I've never heard this before but from what I understand so far is that shes been having allergies for some time and it's causing some inflammatory cells lumping together.

I dont know what could be causing this, shes with my brother who lives with my mom and they have a flea problem but every animal in that house is on monthly preventative flea treatments.

When I picked her up to take her to the vet she had a bunch of scabs on her neck and so she was given antibiotics for it, and prednisone for this condition. The vet wants to see her next week. I asked my brother to please let me know sooner if he ever sees things like this again or if the scabs aren't going away. I think he didn't want to stress me out but I'd rather hear about it sooner than later so it doesn't make it an even more hefty bill.
 

fionasmom

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Everything you are saying sounds standard for EGC and it seems as if your vet has treated it, or is trying to. Fleas can be a piece in this condition so maybe discuss with the vet the type of flea treatment he recommends.
 
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wacckky

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Everything you are saying sounds standard for EGC and it seems as if your vet has treated it, or is trying to. Fleas can be a piece in this condition so maybe discuss with the vet the type of flea treatment he recommends.
She's on revolution which I think is the best treatment out there but I think the yard needs to be treated and they never recommend it but I'll ask. My mom has a dog and that's the only animal that goes out
 

fionasmom

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I have a dog who is very old and failing; we only go out on my front lawn and across the street to the neighbor's lawn and back. The vet found fleas on him last week, so you are probably right about treating the yard.
 
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